K-State To Play in Las Vegas Invitational

Kansas State has been selected to participate in the 2017 Continental Tire Las Vegas invitational, which is set for Thursday-Friday, November 23 and 24, 2017 at the Orleans Arena.

The field is highlighted by Elite Eight participant Xavier of the BIG EAST Conference, Pacific-12 member Arizona State, the Atlantic 10’s George Washington and the Wildcats. Three of four teams advanced to the postseason in 2016-17, including NCAA Tournament appearances for Xavier and K-State, while George Washington won 20 games and played in the second round of the CBI. Arizona State continued its rebuild with a 15-18 record under head coach Bobby Hurley.

Other participants include Big West regular season champion UC Irvine, Hampton, Rider and Northern Arizona.

Each team will play four games in the Invitational – the first two at on-campus sites and the final two rounds at the Orleans Arena. K-State will play two home games at Bramlage Coliseum against opponents to be determined.

Tickets for the final round games at the Orleans Arena are available now in the K-State Athletics Ticket Office by calling (800) 221.CATS. They are also available at the Orleans Arena Box Office by calling (888) 234.2334 or (702) 284.7777.

FOX Sports 1 will televise both opening rounds on Thursday, Nov. 23, and the championship and consolation games on Friday, Nov. 24. FS1 runs all aspects of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational and Las Vegas Classic, ranging from ticket sales, sponsorships and television production.

“We are looking forward to the challenge of playing in a quality non-conference tournament like the Las Vegas Invitational,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “It is always our intent to challenge our team in the preseason with quality opponents and this tournament should again accomplish that goal. Xavier will be a preseason Top 25 team, while Arizona State and George Washington both return a strong nucleus from last season.”

Previous winners of the Las Vegas Invitational include two-time champion Kentucky (2006, 2008) as well as Big 12 participants Oklahoma State (2009), Kansas (2010) and West Virginia (2015). Butler won the latest title with a 69-65 victory over Arizona on Nov. 25, 2016, while Vanderbilt defeated Santa Clara, 76-66, in the consolation game.

This will mark the Wildcats’ second appearance in the Las Vegas Invitational and first since going 0-2 in the 2008 event. K-State lost to Kentucky, 74-72, in the semifinals on Nov. 28 before falling to Iowa, 65-63, in the consolation on Nov. 29.

The complete bracket, including match-ups and television broadcast times, will be announced later this summer.

Dan Lucero is a member of the WIBW Sports Staff. Follow him on Twitter @danluceroshow or email him at dan.lucero@alphamediausa.com.